Temple can't convert in end as Memphis wins

Owls miss three straight shots in closing seconds

Posted: Wednesday, March 27, 2002

By Rick FreemanAssociated Press

NEW YORK -- Dajuan Wagner tied a career high with 32 points and fed Kelly Wise for a dunk with 18.6 seconds left that put Memphis in the finals of the NIT with a 78-77 victory Tuesday night over Temple.

The Tigers (26-9), who appeared headed for their second straight semifinals exit from the tournament, will play the winner of Tuesday night's Syracuse-South Carolina game.

Temple, out of timeouts, took three shots at the end, two by David Hawkins and one by Kevin Lyde, but couldn't put away a game in which it erased deficits of 12 and six points.

Wagner had earlier missed a chance to erase Temple's lead when he scored on a dunk and drew a foul, but missed the free throw.

He got another chance when he tied the score at 65 with 5:23 remaining, and this time he converted to regain the lead for Memphis. He followed with a 16-foot jumper and an NBA-range 3-pointer for a 71-65 lead.

As quickly as they had taken the lead, the Tigers lost it. Hawkins' 3-pointer and Lyde's 3-point play tied the game again at 71 with 3:09 remaining.

The Owls (18-15) were without top scorer Lynn Greer, who averaged 23.2 points for them. They had beaten crosstown rival Villanova in the quarterfinals without him, but the Owls -- their big men, especially -- appeared to miss the open space his long-distance shooting usually gave them.

Alex Wesby led the Owls with 25 points. Lyde had 16, Brian Polk has 15 and Hawkins had 14.

With 10 minutes to play, Temple reclaimed the lead for the first time since 11:56 remained in the first half, when Polk sank a 3-pointer that made it 55-54.

Temple shrank what had been an 11-point deficit to just five by halftime. Polk scored an uncontested layup at the buzzer after a miss by Lyde, making it 40-35.

Anthony Rice made two 3-pointers and Wagner made one on a 12-2 run that put Memphis up 27-18. Hawkins put a stop to things with a 3-pointer at the 7:39 mark.

The Tigers roared back, as Wagner made two more 3s and Scooter McFadgon sank three free throws to give the Tigers a 35-23 lead.

Wagner was held scoreless until after the first TV timeout, missing a pair of free throws and doing little else until hitting a 3-pointer 4:20 into the game.